Tag Archives: michigan indecent exposure sex offender registry

Indecent exposure is a crime under Michigan law. It ranges from exposing oneself (i.e. flashing) to someone touching their private areas in public. A person is guilty of indecent exposure by knowingly making any open or indecent exposure of his or her person to another person. It is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and/or $1,000 in fines. If the indecent exposure includes any fondling of the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or breasts (if female), it is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and/or $2,000 in fines. If the defendant was a sexually delinquent person at the time of the offense, the punishment can be anywhere from one day in jail to life in prison.

Disorderly Conduct

If it is your first offense, a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to negotiate a deal with the prosecutor to lower the charge. A common plea option would be disorderly conduct. This is the lowest level misdemeanor that exists. It is punishable by up to 90 days in jail but it is rare that anyone goes to jail on a 90-day misdemeanor. Disorderly conduct is a catch-all for several offenses. It includes:

Refusing or neglecting to support your family

Common prostitution

Window peeping

Public intoxication

Indecent or obscene public conduct

Vagrancy, public begging, loitering in a public place of illegal business including prostitution or house of ill fame

If convicted two times of indecent exposure involving fondling, you will have to register as a Tier I sex offender. If convicted three times of disorderly conduct or indecent exposure (or a similar local ordinance), you will have to register as a Tier I sex offender.

Urinating in Public

This is just what it sounds like. Urinating in public charges are local ordinances usually punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a few hundred dollars in fines. A lot of jurisdictions are willing to plead them down (especially for first offenses) to civil infractions such as littering, trespassing, or something similar. Some municipalities will do a deferred sentence for six months or so and at the end of that time period, provided you haven’t gotten charged with any more crimes and have paid your fines, the charge will be reduced to a civil infraction or dismissed. Each city, town, and municipality is different so it is important to have an attorney representing you who is familiar with the city prosecutor and judge you will be facing for the charge. Contrary to popular myth, you are not placed on the sex offender registry for simply urinating in public. There would have to be some other aggravating factors such as children or other people present which could elevate it to a charge a indecent exposure or something similar.

Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged with indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, or urinating in public, contact Austin Legal Services, PLC today to speak to a Michigan criminal defense attorney at (517) 614-1983. We can help mitigate the harm and help you avoid a criminal conviction or the sex offender registry.

Defending indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, and urinating in public charges throughout Michigan in the counties of Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Livingston, Jackson counties in the cities of Lansing, East Lansing, St. Johns, Jackson, Brighton, Howell, Jackson.